Move prompted by rising security threats in WPS
POLITICAL parties allied with House administration coalition yesterday called for the re-allocation of confidential funds of agencies to the Philippine Coast Guard and three other agencies that are at the forefront of protecting the country’s territorial interests in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) in the South China Sea.
The political parties said they “view with serious concern” China’s installation of a floating barrier at the Bajo de Masinloc, also known as the Scarborough Shoal and Panatag Shoal.
The 300-meter floating barrier was discovered last week. The PCG on Monday night announced its removal during a “special operation” and said it acted on the order of President Marcos Jr.
“Given recent provocative incidents in the contested areas, we have decided to reallocate — as part of the budget process — confidential and intelligence funds to other agencies chiefly responsible for intelligence and surveillance such as the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA), National Security Council (NSC), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR),” the representatives of the various political parties said in a joint statement yesterday.
At the other chamber, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said senators have also agreed to reallocate the confidential and intelligence funds of agencies to NICA, NSC, PCG, and BFAR, which are directly involved in intelligence and surveillance activities.
“We have agreed in the Senate to do the same. We also will (be) reallocating funds that we feel are not necessary for the use of certain agencies and allocate them to our intelligence community, as well as our coast guard and AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines),” Zubiri said in a message to the media.
Asked if the Office of the Vice President and Department Education will be among the agencies to be affected by the fund realignment, Zubiri said, “We shall review all agencies.”
The OVP has been asking for P500 million in confidential funds, while DepEd wants P150 million. DepEd is also headed by Vice President Sara Duterte.
The House members said the Chinese action “not only impedes the rights and livelihoods of our Filipino fishermen but also disrupts the prevailing atmosphere of regional peace and collaboration.”
The statement was signed by Rizal Rep. Michael John Duavit of the Nationalist Peoples Coalition; Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel, PDP-Laban; Agusan del Norte Rep. Jose Joboy Aquino, Lakas-CMD; Romblon Rep. Eleandro Jesus Madrona, Nacionalista Party; Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte, National Unity Party; and BHW party-list group Rep. Angelica Natasha Co of the Party-List Coalition.
The lawmakers did not say from which departments and agencies the confidential funds will be taken but the House leadership will have to decide once the floor deliberations on the P5.758-trillion proposed national budget for 2024 reaches the period of amendments.
The militant Makabayan bloc earlier sought the realignment of confidential and intelligence funds to programs on social protection in light of the flak drawn by the Office of the Vice President’s use of P125 million confidential funds in December last year.
“Recognizing the rising security threats in the West Philippine Sea and the need to secure top officials, these agencies are better positioned to counteract security threats, protect our territorial waters, and secure the rights and access of Filipino fishermen to traditional fishing grounds,” the parties’ joint statement said.
They said their decision “also underscores the need to ensure that resource allocation aligns with national priorities and the urgent needs of the citizenry, reflecting our commitment to a budget that is balanced, equitable, and serves the true needs and aspirations of the Filipino people.”
They also hailed the PCG’s removal of the barriers at Scarborough Shoal and lauded its dedication to “standing up for the rights of our Filipino fishermen.”
NEW STRATEGY
The government will “soon” come out with a new strategy that calls for a “stronger assertion” of Philippine rights in the disputed West Philippine Sea (WPS), said Vice Adm. Alberto Carlos, chief of the AFP Western Command.
Carlos, during a forum organized by the Stratbase ADR Institute, said the improved
strategy seeks the involvement of other agencies in addressing the WPS issue.
The Philippines, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan are locked in a dispute over the South China Sea. China has been aggressive in its claims in the past years.
Chinese ships have harassed military resupply missions to the Philippine-occupied Ayungin Shoal in the past months. The Filipino troops at Ayungin Shoal are staying at the rusting Navy ship that was grounded at the shoal in 1999 to serve as military outpost.
The Chinese-installed floating barriers at Scarborough Shoal prevented Filipino fishermen from entering the shoal.
“We are crafting the national strategy in the West Philippine Sea, its forthcoming. I cannot discuss the details but it’s for stronger assertion of rights in the sea,” he said.
In an ambush interview, Carlos welcomed the offer of some lawmakers to provide funds for the construction of a permanent station at Ayungin to replace the dilapidated BRP Sierra Madre.
Carlos said the President’s directive to the military was “very clear”, which is to ensure that BRP Sierra Madre will remain at Ayungin Shoal and “strong enough to be able to fly the Philippine flag.”
“We intend to comply with that order, that the BRP Sierra Madre remains stable and strong to be able to fly the Philippine flag until a permanent structure is erected there,” said Carlos.
Carlos belied China’s accusation that he Philippines is stirring up trouble in the WPS by removing the floating barrier.
“We are just asserting our rights in the area. Our duty is to defend and protect our sovereignty and sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea,” he said.
Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro issued a similar statement to the Senate media.
“We are not stirring up trouble. We are not encroaching on their territory. They cannot understand that. It’s their propaganda,” he said in Filipino after a hearing on the Department of National Defense’s proposed budget for 2024.
He also said the Philippines has the right to remove the floating barrier because Scarborough Shoal, which China took control of in 2012, is within the country’s 200-nautical miles exclusive economic zone.
He said it is China that is creating trouble in the WPS.
He said removing the floating barriers does not mean that the Philippines is provoking China into a war.
He also said China’s heightened aggression in the WPS is not a surprise as the Philippines is also aggressively asserting what is rightfully hers.
COMMON FISHING GROUND
Retired Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said the Philippines was right in removing the floating barrier, adding Beijing cannot dictate who can fish in the area that is declared as a common fishing ground by Filipino, Vietnamese and Chinese fishermen in the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA).
The PCA ruling based on the 2013 case lodged by the government under the late President Benigno Aquino III junked China’s sweeping claim in the South China Sea, including the parts claimed by the Philippines as the WPS.
But the arbitral ruling held that Scarborough is a common fishing ground.
Carpio was part of the legal team that argued the Philippine case against China in the PCA.
Carpio further said the arbitral tribunal did not rule on which country has sovereignty over Scarborough as the question is “beyond the tribunal.”
Carpio said any move to regulate fishing in Scarborough Shoal should be agreed upon by the Philippines, Vietnam and China.
Navies of the Philippines and the United States are due to hold a military exercise in southern Luzon starting next week, meant to improve capabilities in responding to threats.
The 12-day exercise, dubbed Exercise Samasama, will be formally opened on Monday during rites to presided over by Navy chief Vice Adm. Toribio Adaci at the Navy headquarters in Manila.
Lt. Col. Enrico Gil Ileto, chief of the AFP Public Affairs Office, said the annual exercise “aims to further strengthen international defense cooperation and advance a rules-based international order.”
“The exercise activities were designed to further enhance the PN’s naval warfare capabilities as the country’s offshore combat force for maritime security operations,” said Ileto.
Ileto said the exercise activities will cover fundamentals on anti-marine warfare, anti-surface warfare, anti-air warfare and electronic warfare.
“The interoperability exercises with the USN (US Navy) will focus on warfighting serials,” said Ileto.
Ileto said Japan, Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, France and New Zealand will be taking part in subject-matter expert exchanges and humanitarian assistance and disaster response table-top events.
He said Indonesia will be an observer.
Lt. Kim Paulo Lopez, public affairs officer of the Naval Forces Southern Luzon, said 733 soldiers from the Philippine Navy and 632 from the US Navy are participating in this year’s exercise.
Lopez said Canada and Japan are sending 244 and 169 troopers, respectively, for the exercise. Britain will have 34, France seven, Australia three, Indonesia two, and New Zealand one. — With Victor Reyes and Ashzel Hachero
